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The Syccan
“Although the Syccan are seen as natives to this land, opinions are divided as to their true origins. Scholars argue amongst themselves whether the Syccan came across from the sea to the south shortly after the Warlord's invasion,or whether the Syccan have always lived in Talarra, making them the true owners of this land. The only individuals who might know the true origins of the Syccan are the the very oldest members of the Syccan Elder Council, but if they do know, they appear to have no inclination to settle the score. Even if they wanted to tell the world of the true Syccan history, it is doubtful that they could, as the only Syccan old enough lost their grasp on reality many hundreds of years ago.” (The Talarran Almanac, p.640) Physical Description The Syccan are a fair race, with skin tones ranging from sky blue at birth to a transparent white in old age. Their hair grows white or silver, and their eyes are entirely black. They are a tall and slender race, physically frail compared to the other races, but elegant and quick. The Syccan are immortal, in that they can never die by natural causes. In times past, they would remain forever youthful, but some foul fate befell them, and although they are still immortal, they continue to age, albeit slower than humans. After a few hundred years, a Syccan's hearing and sight will have deteriorated, and as time passes, they begin to lose their grasp of reality, retreating into their own minds and wishing for death. Social Structure and Culture The Syccan way is knowledge, and as soon as a child can walk and talk, they enter schooling in every aspect of the world. They are scholars without equals, and they possess a natural affinity for the magical arts. To abandon ones studies before adulthood for whatever reason is seen as a great dishonour not only to the individual, but to the House to which they herald. The greatest dishonour for a Syccan is suicide. It is written in the laws of the Syccan that it is the responsibility of the Syccan to preserve the knowledge of their race, and that despite the horrible fate of growing old indefinitely, ending one's life would seek only to destroy the knowledge that individual possessed. The Syccan are run by the Elder Council, which is comprised of the heads of the Houses, as well as other notable characters. Politics is paramount, and the Council spends more time arguing about pointless matters than it does in actually governing the Syccan nation. In times of war or need however, the Council is supposed to drop all petty arguments and work strictly towards resolving the danger. This does not go quite to plan though, as each member of the Council will still subtly be trying to gain greater power and influence over his peers. Syccan architecture is unusual within Talarra, as they favour spires and towers, elegant structures that reach for the sky. They are constructed predominantly from white marble (Ed: ooc suggestion...white wool or stone.) Holding a famous disdain for the other races in Talarra, the Syccan consider themselves to be superior in every way to what they perceive to be the barbaric Thaga, or the infantile and dull-minded humans. Although they identify better with the Ophian newcomers, they still think of themselves to be above the affairs of such strange creatures. This habit of ignoring the other races has often caused diplomatic friction: “Upon asking an anonymous member of the Syccan High Council for their thoughts on the recent governmental elections held by the humans, the council member displayed no knowledge of the event, followed by remarking that it 'doesn't matter which person won, as all humans suffer a crippling simplicity of the mind'. As you can imagine, there was uproar within the human government, calling for a public apology to all men from the Syccan High Council. The human public however did not seem quite as bothered by the remark, even going so far as to dub the winner of the aforementioned election as 'The Simple One', possibly due to his (given the remarks and circumstances, most unfortunately) inability to govern the nation at all.” (Tales of the Unfortunate and Idiotic, Chapter: Diplomatic Blunders and Gaffes, p.570).